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This post offers English learners 30+ examples of collaborative task (Part 3) and the discussion (Part 4) that are in the B2 FIRST. These are the 3rd and 4th tasks in the speaking exam (HERE) that learners must carry out.

In this part of the exam the two candidates are to speak together about a situation for about two minutes. They should discuss the situation and take into account all of the 5 options provided. In the end they have about one minute to come to a conclusion (agree or disagree HERE). The way this exercise is assessed is simple (see the link for more details HERE).

The interlocutor will describe the task and then the candidates have about 15 seconds to look at the information, then the should debate the topic for about 2-3 minutes. The examiners are not involved in the task and the candidates are to interact independently until the examiner says “thank you”.

 

 

This post will provide advice to be able to pass the conversation task of the B2 First. It evaluates the candidate’s Interactive Communication skills

For interactive communication “Initiates and responds appropriately, linking contributions to those of other speakers. Maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome”. This means that you can form questions well, you can continue a conversation and make it interesting, and you can link topics to other topics or to what your partner has said. And that you try to give a conclusion. I always tell candidates that you want to think of it as la patata caliente. You do not want to speak for too long (20 seconds maximum) and then you pass it to your partner with a question or a question tag. It is an informal conversation and you can interrupt and show disagreement. Try to be creative and give the activity a context, boring conversations usually get a bad mark/grade.

Cambridge assessment scale

 

What does this part of the speaking involve?

Collaborative task (part 3) 3 minutes: In this part of the exam the candidates speak together about a situation for 2-3 minutes. In this part you need to look at the 5 options or topics and use the following skills to have a conversation. They will have two minutes to discuss the options and then one minute to come to a conclusion.

  • Suggest
  • Initiate and respond (questions)
  • Develop (maintain the conversation and make it interesting)
  • Link (relate your points to those of your partner)
  • Negotiate an outcome (conclusion)

 

What you basically need to do is hold a conversation for about 2 minutes about the different options. Suggest one of the options and you both give your opinion about it. After about 2 minutes the examiner will ask you for a conclusion and you need to try to come to an agreement about the options. Listen carefully because they sometimes ask for the best option, sometimes for the worst option or they can ask you for the two best options. So make sure that you answer the question.

Good luck and enjoy the practice material.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A QUESTION

Why not have a go yourself!

Try practicing these questions with your speaking partner to perfect these parts of the speaking exam.

EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 3
EXAMPLE 4
EXAMPLE 5
EXAMPLE 6
EXAMPLE 7
EXAMPLE 8
EXAMPLE 9
EXAMPLE 10
EXAMPLE 11
EXAMPLE 12
EXAMPLE 13
EXAMPLE 14
EXAMPLE 15
EXAMPLE 16
EXAMPLE 17
EXAMPLE 18
EXAMPLE 19
EXAMPLE 20
EXAMPLE 21
EXAMPLE 22
EXAMPLE 23
EXAMPLE 24
EXAMPLE 25
EXAMPLE 26
EXAMPLE 27
EXAMPLE 28
EXAMPLE 29
EXAMPLE 30
EXAMPLE 31
EXAMPLE 32
EXAMPLE 33
EXAMPLE 34
EXAMPLE 35
EXAMPLE 36
EXAMPLE 37
EXAMPLE 38
GENERAL B2 COURSE
B2 FIRST CAMBRIDGE

Example activities (available in PDF):

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FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 8SENTENCE TRANSFORMATIONS
FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 9SENTENCE TRANSFORMATIONS